Taxpayer Advocate Cites Difficulty With IRS Division

The government office that goes to bat for taxpayers against the Internal Revenue Service says it faced resistance and “cultural difficulty” from the IRS division that targeted the tea party and other groups for tough scrutiny.

That likely contributed to the problems and delays the groups experienced in gaining tax-exempt status, according to a new report from the IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service.

In its report, the advocate service says the IRS division that oversees tax-exempt organizations had a “cultural difficulty” with the advocate office, and refused to comply with some laws and rules designed to give the advocate office a line of sight into the tax agency’s internal workings.